Larbi Ben M'hidi

Larbi Ben M'hidi (1923-4 March 1957) was one of the founders of the FLN political party and revolutionary movement in Algeria. Involved with Algerian nationalist movements since World War II, he was one of the most important FLN leaders during the Algerian War, during which he was captured and summarily executed by the French Army.

Biography
Larbi Ben M'hidi was born in 1923 in Ain M'lila, French North Africa to a Sunni Muslim Berber family. He was involved with Boy Scouts in Biskra, being a group leader for a short period of time. During World War II, he joined the Algerian People's Party and fought for the independence of Algeria from France, and he witnessed several massacres committed by the French Army against rebellious Algerian civilians. On 10 October 1954, he was one of the founders of the FLN, a socialist revolutionary organization that sought to fight for independence through armed struggle within Algeria. This movement waged guerrilla warfare against the French in the mountains while also carrying out attacks against French forces in Algiers, and the FLN began a terrorist campaign in September 1956 after the pied noirs killed 70 Arab civilians in the Rue de Thebes bombing of 10 August 1956. On 23 February 1957, Ben M'hidi was captured in Algiers shortly after meeting with Saadi Yacef and Ali La Pointe, and he was questioned by the French. Colonel Marcel Bigeard gained respect for Ben M'hidi, who refused to hand over his comrades despite repeated interrogation, but General Jacques Massu had Bigeard transferred to his authority to be tortured. On 4 March 1957, he was hanged at a farm to make it look like a suicide, remaining loyal to his cause to the last.